by Thuletho Zwane | Apr 19, 2013 | News
Race relations have taken over the South African media platform for two straight weeks: The UCT poll on “the most attractive race”; the senior advocate who quit the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) amid disagreement about transformation; the Stellenbosch University’s residence-placement policy and (closer to home) a Wits Vuvuzela reporter who was called a “house negro” by a senior member of a political party on campus.
Although race is a sensitive issue in this country, the public trial on social and mainstream media regarding the UCT race poll was harsh. The paper is run by students and the article didn’t incite hate speech. One can argue that those students haven’t learnt the value of “political correctness” or lack the desperation to uphold the delusion of “the rainbow nation”. You can argue that the poll should not have been promoted as a “study” and that statistical inference should not have been made – that was the main flaw in the article. Students should not be taken to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) based on their preferences or writing about their preferences.
Transformation is also a highly contested subject. Advocate Izak Smuts resigned from the JSC reportedly accusing it of being “against the appointment of qualified white male candidates”. Affirmative Action (AA) rears its ugly head again and the proverbial question regarding transformation policies versus the hiring of qualified candidates was debated in many newspapers nationally.
Amongst others, City Press editor Ferial Haffajee, wrote about the distinction between transformation and qualified candidacy, saying the two are not necessarily exclusive.
If affirmative action and qualified candidacy are seen as exclusive, an “either or” choice, does this mean Wits graduates, across the race spectrum will be subjected to this limited scope in pursuing our careers?
Stellenbosch University’s residence-placement policy also came under media scrutiny. The university has finally been given the green light to accommodate more black students in its residences. The policy under review explicitly states that residence allocations should be: 66% white, 23% coloured, 10% black and 1% Indian. Stellenbosch alumni have spoken out against the policy and called for it to change.
To bring the matter closer to home, the chairman of a campus political party called one of our reporters a “house negro” last week.
While we discussed the best way to deal with the incident, one of our staff members said it was funny how “house negros” always get a bad rep when they started some of the slave rebellions in the US. He was referring to Nat Turner.
How and why some terms become derogatory is part of the debate. But the main point is South Africa is marred with racial tensions. These issues should not be denied, rejected or suppressed but should be debated.
by Thuletho Zwane | Apr 13, 2013 | News
Four cases of sexual harassment in Faculty of Humanities are among those that are the subject of an university-wide inquiry by the law firm of Bowman Gilfillan.
“There are a number of cases being investigated by Bowman, four cases in the Faculty of Humanities,” Prof Libby Meintjes, head of the School of Literature Language and Media.
The inquiry follows allegations of sexual harassment against Wits staff members including suspended senior drama lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu, former head of the political studies department Prof Rupert Taylor and former head of the media studies department Dr Last Moyo.
Meintjes emphasised that Moyo was on “special leave” and not “suspension”. “Dr Moyo has been placed on special leave with no access to the campus pending the investigation,” she said. [pullquote align=”right”]“Students, feel free to speak out openly, without fear.”[/pullquote]
She said Moyo has not been suspended, as there have not been enough formal complaints made.
Director of employee relations Elaine Milton told Wits Vuvuzela it is better for a staff member who is the subject of an investigation to be off campus while such an investigation is taking place.
Milton said proceedings were at a “very delicate stage” and she could not disclose the names of staff members involved as this will prejudice the investigation.
She said that “special leave” is a leave of absence without the loss of benefits or remuneration in order for the university to be able to conduct an investigation in an “unfettered” and an unhindered” manner.
Milton added that Taylor, who stepped down as head of the political studies department last year following sexual harassment allegations, has not been formally placed on special leave.
Meintjes stressed that students should not fear to come forward with complaints about sexual harassment. “If they take [their complaints] to the correct sources, to the correct persons, there will be no backlash,” she said.“Students, feel free to speak out openly, without fear.”
Dr Mehita Iqani, acting head of the department of media studies, said: “There is a lack of trust in the institution. I don’t think anyone should HAVE TO work in an environment where there is a sense of fear…Students need to know that if they have a complaint against staff confidentiality will be absolutely protected.”
University Registrar Kirti Menon said the university is hoping to receive feedback from the Bowman Gilfillan attorneys by the end of next week.
Meintjes said: “We are hoping it will be concluded very soon.”
“I don’t think we’ve heard the end of this.”
While the investigation into the sexual harassment allegations is being conducted, a separate inquiry into the university’s procedures for the reporting of sexual harassment is also taking place.
The vice chancellor’s office has asked Norton Rose Attorneys and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the university to conduct the inquiry into the university’s policies and mechanisms dealing with sexual harassment. This inquiry is expected to be concluded by August.
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by Thuletho Zwane | Apr 12, 2013 | News
Members of the young communist league at UCT are taking fellow students and staff to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) accusing them of re-opening “deep wounds of the past”.
The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) lodged a complaint against the Varsity newspaper to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) last week.
Varsity published a poll on April 2 with the headline “UCT votes on the most attractive race” showing “the Caucasian race” as the most attractive.
YCLSA wrote they were “shocked and disgusted” by the survey as they (YCLSA) are working towards a non-racial South Africa in which, “deep wounds of the past are not easily forgotten”.
“UCT is a microcosm of the broader Cape Town which remains a racist city with Apartheid nostalgia,” read the statement. The YCLSA said UCT and Cape Town have fostered an environment that makes racists feel safe.
UCT lecturer and Daily Maverick columnist Jacques Rousseau said the Varsity article was “silly” but what was even “sillier” was the YCLSA going to report the article to the SAHRC.
Writing on the Synapses website, Rousseau said the article was an opinion piece and reported on a straw poll.
The Wits SRC acting president, Tokelo Nhlapo, said: “He (Rousseau) is being silly. It (SA) is a constitutional democracy and the YCLSA feels their rights have been violated. It is silly for him as a white political lecturer to say someone black can’t take this matter forward.”
The survey was presented as “quasi-scientific” with the author Qamran Tabo stating she surveyed 60 people, 10 from each of the following racial groups: white, coloured (culturally), Indian, East Asian, biracial and African. Her findings suggested that the most attractive race was Caucasian at 38%; Coloured (culturally) at 19%, Indian 14%; 11% Asian; 10% Mixed (biracial) and Black at a low (8%).
She concluded her “study” by suggesting that dating a white person was perceived as being “the ultimate status symbol” for many people of colour and that bagging a white partner was an achievement.
The YCLSA statement said the survey was encouraging the idea of one race being perceived as the “jewel” of all others.
SAHRC has agreed to investigate the complaint against Varsity. “We will engage with the university (UCT) and the newspaper and provide them with the opportunity to respond to the allegations and then depending on that process, we will decide on the suitable way forward,” said Western Cape HRC manager, Melanie Dugmore.
Witsies were interviewed this week about the Varsity article. Their reactions are on the Vox Pop on this page.
Dr Kevin Whitehead (Wits Psychology) analyses survey
by Thuletho Zwane | Apr 5, 2013 | News
I recently accepted a Facebook friend request from someone with the same name as my brother.
The “Facebook friend” Jabulane Zwane and I became friends about two months ago. Soon after that he told me he had been abandoned by his biological parents, lived with his adoptive parents and needed my help to get a South African identity document (ID). Initially I was apprehensive as there are scams around. I wanted to delete but instead I decided to ask questions.
When I asked him how he would like me to help him he responded “go to hmeafairs n confes dat u knw me”.
This was clearly a problem for me as I didn’t know this Jabulane Zwane. I began to wonder if he was a desperate person in need of an identity document or if this was a case of an identity theft scam.
Home Affairs spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa told Vuvuzela: “There are black people who were not registered on the database of the country; these people need to apply for a late registration birth.”
Mamoepa said the person must present themselves at Home Affairs and they can apply on their own behalf. They should bring their birth certificate, police affidavit, people who know them and a school report.
There was an incident in 2009 when a young boy killed himself because he had such trouble getting an ID. Skhumbuzo Mhlongo, born in 1987, killed himself in frustration. The Home Affairs official who was conducting his interview was not satisfied with the information Mhlongo gave and accused him of lying. The official tore his papers, threw them at him and said Mhlongo was clearly not a South African citizen. They called him a derogatory name used for foreigners.
My Facebook “friend” Zwane about two weeks ago, claimed to have the same issue “eish I dnt hv mum n dad n I lv wth th stp parnts n I dnt hv brthcirtficate”, he wrote on my private inbox. He said that as a result of not having an ID he’s been told to stop attending school “ja n thy say I cnt go to xkul if I dnt hv it.”
Zwane claims that he went to Home Affairs with his adoptive parents to apply for a late birth certificate. His application was rejected, he said, because he didn’t have enough information to prove that he was a South African citizen. He has now become desperate.
“I rathr die, myb thngz will get bttr 4evry1” he wrote. I started getting concerned about his well-being, bearing in mind Mhlongo’s suicide.
But as Mamoepa said “the danger is you don’t know who approached you, you are taking a chance”.
I still don’t know whether Zwane is a scam artist who has access to the internet, a Facebook account without a profile picture looking to scam students or if he’s a 19-year-old young man desperate to get an ID in order to further his studies.
by Thuletho Zwane | Mar 15, 2013 | Featured 1, News
PHYSICAL MOTIVATION: Choreographer Sthembiso Khalishwayo challenges mainstream physical theatre as it has been taught and applied within the School of Art. Photo: Emelia Motsai
Physical theatre – usually considered the preserve of fit, able-bodied actors – will give disabled actors the chance to show Witsies “how they view themselves and interpret other people’s view of them”, during March.
Mammatli Thakhuli-Nzuza, MA Applied Theatre and Drama, said this was the intention behind Am I Really, which she directed to commemorate Disability and Human Rights week.
Am I Really explores the internal voices of a group of Wits students living with different disabilities through the use of movement. The Physical Theatre piece challenges the concept of being “disabled” while highlighting the silent disabilities that exist in all of us.
Thakhuli-Nzuza explained that most disabled students were only reminded of their disability when other people treated them as disabled.
“People tip-toe around disabled people. That’s what makes them uncomfortable.”
Thakhuli-Nzuza will be working with choreographer Sthembiso Khalishwayo, a former Witsie who studied physical theatre and performance. The play will be performed by Sisipho Ntengo, Sally-Ann Bafshoe, Zinhle Nxumalo and Jermain George, all Wits students living with disability.
“Art is everywhere and anyone can do it; the different modes of self expression extend way beyond the physical boundaries we have created” said Thakhuli-Nzuza.
She wants to introduce the Wits University community to physically disabled dancers. She also wants to encourage theatre makers to go beyond the ‘ordinary’ when creating work.
Am I Really will be performed at the Wits Amphitheatre on March 15 and 16, 19 and 20 at 7.30pm. Prices are R20 for students and R30 for non-students.
For more information contact Mammatli Thakhuli-Nzuza on tmammatli@yahoo.com
thuletho@witsvuvuzela.com
by Thuletho Zwane | Mar 14, 2013 | Featured 1
Physical theatre – usually considered the preserve of fit, able-bodied actors – will give disabled actors the chance to show Witsies “how they view themselves and interpret other people’s view of them”, during March. Pictures by: Thule Zwane and Emelia Motsai
by Thuletho Zwane | Mar 11, 2013 | News
The Wits ANC Youth League (ANCYL) rushed in the defence of senior drama lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu and accused the South African media and Wits University of harassing black academics in the country
“This sensationalism suggests to us that Tshepo [sic] wa Mamatu is innocent and that a conspiracy is driving these allegations,” the organisation said in a statement.
The statement accuses the Sunday Times of using “faceless and spineless sources” to compromise the integrity and to humiliate wa Mamatu.
Wa Mamatu has been accused in media reports of sexually assaulting and violating his students during rehearsals, auditions and off-campus for a period of six years.
The Wits Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (DASO) published a statement responding to the Wits ANCYL asking “is the race of a person important or the nature of the crime?”
DASO added that wa Mamatu was not only accused of making advances on students but also asked them to “undress, touch themselves, sliding his fingers into their pants, sexual relationships and alleged rape over a period of 6 years”. DASO said the issue should not be about race, but about rape and sexual harassment.
Tshediso Mangope, chairperson of Wits ANCYL, emphasised that their statement wasn’t a racial issue but that wa Mamatu is being crucified by public opinion. He questioned the mechanisms and processes used by Wits University and the students who reported the lecturer to the Sunday Times.
“Why report allegations to the media when no formal complaints were made to the university and the police?” asked Mangope.
“If these students were genuinely violated, they have the opportunity to report these with law enforcement institutions (not the media),” read the Wits ANCYL statement.
SRC representative Tokelo Nhlapo said the university had a history of responding differently to cases based on race.
“I think that Tsepo [wa Mamate] is treated this way because of the colour of his skin” said Nhlapo. “If the university seeked justice, they shouldn’t have made comments in the media.”
Sibulele Mgudlwa, SRC president, believes that the case wasn’t treated fairly. He said the university responded differently when the same allegations were made last year about a white lecturer.
He said the SRC was “not defending or declaring him [wa Mamatu] guilty. [The] priority is students.”
However, Mgudlwa said the mechanisms that deal with sexual harassment and sexual violence issues should be standard across board.
“The university has a tendency of selectively applying its policies,” he said. “Response should be uniform, swift, regardless of race and academic standing.”
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